(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-05-13)
Kwong, Gabriel A.
The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance for rapid testing to track and contain the outbreak of infectious diseases. Current tests rely on RT-qPCR which requires a thermocycler and limits point-of-care (POC) use. POC tests that can amplify signals without specialized instrumentation could be deployed for rapid screening and reach a broader segment of the population. Here we will highlight strategies for isothermal amplification to allow major classes of biomarkers – including nucleic acids, proteins, and cells – to be detected with minimal sample processing. Central to our strategy is taking advantage of enzymatic turnover, such as with proteases or Cas12a, to amplify detection signals. We aim to adapt these methods with paper-based assays to allow visualization of test results by eye. These strategies are generalization to a broad range of diseases to increase access to POC testing.